Forget Me Not
by SakuraStories
Summary: Sakura has amnesia. There is threat on her life. It is up to Kakashi to make her remember who she is and keep her safe.  Edited
1. Death of a Kunoichi

I do not own Naruto :(

Thanks so much to Kashi-Cookie-Monster for editing this chapter for me! :)

Also a special thanks to  
>Lil-BabYAnG3L<p>

Kashi-Cookie-Monster

EvilKyu Cassielf

and

InoSakuShine

for the reviews! :)

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><p>CHAPTER 1<p>

Death of a Kunoichi

Kakashi had returned to Konoha from a three month long mission. He was heading to the Hokage building to update Tsunade on the success of his mission. Most of the shinobi he passed had solemn looks and were dressed in black. Obviously someone had died and he was fairly sure it was someone he knew.

Hesitantly he approached Gai and a grief stricken Lee. "What's going on?"

"It's .." Gai started out quietly.

"My beloved Sakura-chan!" Lee exclaimed through his tears. Kakashi's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Sakura has been killed in the line of duty." Gai spoke in a tone alien to his usual boisterous one. Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief. "They have a viewing set up at the chapel by the river. Going all day. No service, just people come and pay their respects, then go."

Kakashi couldn't move. Finally he found a strength and forced it to his legs and began to walk to the Hokage building. He didn't believe that Sakura was gone, yet he couldn't find the courage to walk down to the chapel to find out for himself. He knocked on Tsunade's door.

"Come." He entered.

Tsunade started to speak, but Kakashi quickly cut her off. "Is it true?"

"..."

"Is Sakura really gone?"

"Well ... yes and no, but I need to speak with you about ..." Kakashi vanished in a cloud of smoke. Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She got up and walked out of her office, shutting the door behind her.

Kakashi appeared in front of the chapel. Not wanting to enter, but his legs slowly moving of their own will towards what he desperately did not want to see. As he trudged through the doors, he noticed the chapel was empty with an open dark burgundy casket at the end of the isle. He inched closer. Once he was within a few feet of the casket, he saw her pink locks. He fell to his knees.

Kakashi had secretly harbored feelings for Sakura for at least two years, but out of professionalism, had never acted too much upon them. He had hinted to Sakura a few times, but she simply brushed it off. He didn't believe she was dense enough to not catch on, so he figured she didn't feel the same and just left things where they were. They had become great friends over the past few years however since she had joined ANBU as the head medic sensei.

Once he gathered up the courage, he stood to his feet and made the painful and seemingly long walk, the last few feet to the casket. She was dressed in a red dress, her hair was made up in soft curls, she had a light application of natural toned makeup that she never needed, but was probably administered by the mortician to most young female adults that came in. Her fingers touched over her midsection, holding a bouquet of cherry blossoms.

She looked beautiful, but she was even more beautiful when she was alive and her vibrant green eyes twinkled in whatever light was around. His vision started to blur through his tears and he wasn't able to make out her silhouette anymore. He reached out to run his hand gently over her cheek.

"Kakashi." His hand stopped, but he didn't turn to acknowledge his Hokage. He was so stricken with grief, she could punch him into the wall right now and he wouldn't even attempt to get back up. She took his halted actions and silence as his cue that he was listening. "I need to speak with you about this."

"Sure. Tell me who killed her and where I can find them. That is all I want to hear from you right now."

"Look, I know you are upset, but there is a bright side."

"How is there a bright side to all of this? She's dead! I never got the chance to say goodbye or to tell her ... No offence but there isn't one fucking bright side to this situation!" Tsunade closed her eyes. He was taking this a lot harder than she had expected. She imagined that it was because he had lost so many people in his life and everyone he got close to, died. Sakura was the first person since Obito that he had gotten this close to, and now, she lay in a casket before him.

"Kakashi ... " she turned and noticed a sobbing Ino walking in the doors with a solemn Choji and Shikamaru alongside her. "Come to my office to bring me your mission report." he started to protest. "Hatake, I expect you there within the hour. Don't make me come looking for you. I promise I will give you the name and location of her killer." Kakashi nodded as Tsunade turned to leave.

Kakashi noticed all the things people had placed in Sakura's coffin. There were jewellery, photos, flowers and a few other items. "I don't have anything to give you Sakura. I know you always hated me reading this in public, so I will let you take it with you. After all, you know it was my prized possession." He almost laughed, thinking of that would have made her laugh too. He slipped the orange book along the backside of her coffin where no one could see. He turned around and passed Asuma's old team with a nod as he left.

Before heading to the Hokage tower, Kakashi stopped by the river. It was a spot he took the team back in their genin days. When it was summer and they were about to die of heat exhaustion after training they would take some time here to go swimming before going home. He could see Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke playing. Naruto and Sasuke arguing and having a splash contest. Sakura being caught in the crossfire and hitting them both. He smiled at the memories. Sasuke had never returned and was presumed dead. Now Sakura was gone. He was losing everyone. As much as it pained him, he decided he needed to leave the village.

He wasn't going to risk getting close to Naruto and costing the Leaf one of the greatest Hokage's it would never know. He wouldn't be responsible for killing Naruto's dreams as well. As the sun set and the doors to the chapel were closed, he wiped one last tear from his eye. It would be the last tear Kakashi Hatake would ever shed. He took off to the Hokage building to let Tsunade know he would avenge Sakura and start a new life somewhere else.

"Come ... oh, there you are. I half expected you not to come, but what I have to tell you can't risk being overheard. You are the only one I can trust this information with Kakashi, do you understand?"

"Don't worry. Sakura will have her vengeance."

"Sakura isn't dead."


	2. The Hidden Truth

Thanks so much to Kashi-Cookie-Monster for editing this chapter for me! :)

CHAPTER 2

The Hidden Truth

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><p>"Don't fuck with me Tsunade."<p>

"I'm not. The situation is critical and faking her death was the only option."

"I don't understand, what could be so bad that making everyone she cares about think she is dead?"

"Dammit Kakashi! I have been trying to tell you from the moment you got back, so shut up and listen!" Kakashi immediately shut his mouth. He knew she was dead serious and he had been treading on thin ice enough as it is with his back talk insubordination. She had put up with it because she knew he was grieving, but now there was no need for grieving apparently.

"Sakura was sent out on a high ranking ANBU mission about two months ago. Five were sent out, one severely wounded ANBU returned with Sakura in his arms. The other three were killed. They were top ANBU that could easily keep up with you Kakashi. Sakura suffered severe head trauma. The men responsible are still out there and we have confirmation that they are out to kill Sakura. They have already killed the ANBU that brought her back. They killed him here in this village in his hospital bed. We don't know how they got past our guards, so you see why faking her death right now is our only option. We set an open viewing for the whole day in case they came looking for her, we wanted them to find her there."

Kakashi couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Where is she now?"

"In the hospital. She is recovered enough to go home, but as you can already figure, she cant go home. If they are able to infiltrate our village, she isn't safe there."

"So where will she stay?"

"You are the only person I can ask to take her in Kakashi."

"What about Naruto, or Ino or Hinata?"

"Naruto is an ANBU captain now and we are relying on his training skills to help make our ANBU stronger since we are apparently no match for whomever is responsible for all of this. He's much too busy to give her the care she needs. I can't trust Ino to keep her mouth shut and the Hyuuga clan would have nothing to do with offering this type of aide to anyone other than their bloodline. Kakashi, you are the only option I have right now."

He nodded in understanding. "I'll take her in. I need her to give me what information she can anyway."

"Not so fast. There's more. She has suffered a severe case of amnesia. I am not sure if she will regain her memory or not. She is able to function normally, but she is still unable to speak. Communication is hard for her right now."

Kakashi felt as though a ton of bricks had fallen on his chest. She was alive, but she wasn't the old Sakura. All of the memories that made her who she was were gone and may never return. "Kakashi, I know I am asking so much from you and this is going to be a very hard task. You don't have to say yes. If you cant do this, I will try to find someone else."

"No. I'll do it."

"Ok. I will come by every few days to check on her. You will need to keep her inside as much as possible. Amnesia patients can sometimes get overwhelmed if there is too much going on around them." He nodded. "Come on, I'll take you to see her and I'll pack up her things so you can take her home." When they entered the room, Kakashi thought there was a mistake. The woman in the bed was brunette. "We have to do what we can for disguise. Her hair would give her away." Tsunade whispered.

Sakura was still sleeping. Tsunade made some hand seals and pressed her fingers to Sakura's temples. Once she was finished, Kakashi gave her a puzzled look. "I have attached a message to her old memories. If she is able to unlock them, when her mind knows it is time, she will unlock the message. She is going to be starting a new life today as someone else. If she starts regaining her memory, she will need an explanation and knowing her, she won't listen to any of us."

Tsunade gently shook Sakura to rouse her. "Mio, it's time to go home." Sakura woke up and stared blankly at Tsunade. Her eyes darted around the room and landed on Kakashi. He inwardly sighed. She had a certain look to her eyes when she saw her friends. But right now, her eyes seemed as empty as her memories did. "Do you remember Kakashi?" She looked at Tsunade and shook her head no. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention. She can shake her head and nod, so if you have a question, ask for yes and no answers."

Sakura climbed out of the bed and stood by the window, looking down at the hospital's courtyard. They had a beautiful fountain in the centre with benches surrounding and there were many various kinds of flower bushes, cherry blossom and willow trees. They had made this garden in hopes of raising spirits of patients who were forced to stay at the hospital for a long amount of time. Tsunade was busy packing Sakura's bag. Kakashi walked over to window and stood next to Sakura. He looked down at the courtyard. "Would you like to go see it before we go home?" She nodded.

Tsunade handed him Sakura's packed bag and he held out his arm for Sakura to take. She hesitantly took it and they left the room. Tsunade watched them leave and silently hoped that this would work.


	3. I Don't Remember

Thanks so much to Kashi-Cookie-Monster for editing this chapter for me! :)

CHAPTER 3

I Don't Remember

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><p>Kakashi sat down on the bench and reached into his pocket. He then remembered he had laid his novel in Sakura's coffin. 'It's ok. I'll gladly give it up to have her back,' he assured himself. Instead he watched her as she slowly walked around the garden courtyard. She stopped at a rose bush that was in full bloom. She held her hand out and carefully took a big red rose into her palm and leaned forward to smell it. She inhaled and a smile crept across her face.<p>

She walked onward and stopped at different flowers, taking a minute to looks at them. Her favourites seemed to be Amaryllis, Azalea, Camellia, Dahlia, Lily and the Lotus flowers in the fountain. She stood under the cherry blossom tree for quite a while. She seemed as if she felt she should remember something, but it was obvious she couldn't. A single cherry blossom fell from the tree as a gentle breeze swept through the garden. It swayed in the wind from left to right until it finally landed in Sakura's hair. She held the small flower in her hand and smiled. She placed it back in her dark tresses.

After about twenty minutes in the garden, they left and headed to Kakashi's house. Kakashi knew that the old Sakura liked Miso soup and dumplings. He sent a clone out to get an order and bring it back. Sakura watched in curiosity as Kakashi dispersed his clone. "You can do this too. I may have to re-teach you though." Sakura's eyes lit up at the mention of being taught how to make another copy of herself.

When they got to the apartment, she walked about the place, learning it. She stopped in his bedroom at his dresser. She stood there for about a minute. Kakashi walked over to her. She was staring at the picture of team 7. She knew she should know this picture. Kakashi knew she was struggling. Her brow was furrowed and her stare at the picture was intense.

Kakashi pointed at himself in the picture. "Do you remember him?" She poked her finger to his chest. "Ok, do you remember him?" He pointed at Sasuke. She shook her head. He pointed at Naruto. She stared for a moment but seemed a little discouraged when she couldn't place him. "What about her?" He pointed at a young teenage Sakura. She stared as if trying desperately to remember something ... anything. Her eyes fell to the floor and her shoulders slumped.

"Hey, it's ok. You might not remember them now, but with time, you will. I'm sure of it." He was sure of it. Sakura was one of the strongest people he had known; in strength and willpower. He knew if she was still in there somewhere, she would eventually find the will to force her memories back into her existence. The clone walked in the apartment, placed the food on the table and vanished. "Mio, it's time to eat!" he called down to her.

She sat down at the table and mirrored Kakashi's actions. He lifted to spoon to his soup and she did the same. She wasn't trying to be funny. Her face said she was honestly learning the action. Had she forgotten how to eat? He imagined in the hospital, someone probably fed her. Kakashi wondered to himself just how much he would have to teach Sakura. He didn't mind, but he still wondered why he was Tsunade's choice instead of finding someone else. Sure he had been Sakura's sensei when she was a teenager, but he was also a male, taking in a woman with severe amnesia. Add on top of it his reputation; resident pervert of Konoha, coming in only behind Jiraya himself, the author of Kakashi's beloved book series.

The whole situation and all the possible outcomes just sounded like a bad idea to him. Then again, he probably was just a complete pervert and that kind of thing only happened in his novels. He shrugged the whole thing off and started to eat the dumplings. Even though eating a dumpling wasn't a complicated task, she still mimicked his manner of eating them.

It was late after they finished dinner and he was very tired. He hadn't had chance to rest since returning from his mission, coupled with the stress of believing Sakura was dead, seeing her body in a casket, finding out she was alive, but not of her former self. She didn't remember him, and didn't remember certain basic everyday things. Though he was thrilled that she was alive, he had a very uncertain road ahead of him.

Kakashi had gotten a bigger apartment about a year ago. Though he didn't need a second bedroom, he had gotten a great price on the place and set up a spare guest room for no apparent reason. Now he was glad. He showed Sakura the spare room and where she would be sleeping and asked her if she needed anything. When she shook her head, he told her she was welcome to anything she wanted and if she needed help to come get him.

She nodded and sat down on the couch, browsing through some books Kakashi had. Satisfied that she would be ok, he crawled in his bed. He had almost fallen asleep about three times, but had woken himself up somehow each time. Worried, he got up and trudged down the hall to check on her. She still sat on the couch, looking at the pages.

Kakashi had a thing for scenic and serene places. He liked his quiet time and not being around others. He appreciated the natural beauty the land offered and found tranquillity in viewing them for hours. He had picked up books from different lands on his missions with photos of the most beautiful areas of their land. His favorite by far though, was the Land of Water. It was misty in most places and there was the beauty of snow. This just so happened to be the book she was looking through.

She had run across a photo of a waterfall he hadn't seen before outside of the book, but had looked for every time he was in the land of water, coming up empty. Many nations would flaunt their countries beauty, but few outsiders would ever see them. He watched as her finger traced a giant stream of water that fell from the rocks above, to the river below. A heartwarming smile graced her lips as though she were having a memory, but it faded as soon as it appeared.

He knew this was hard on her. Not having any memory as to who she was, Tsunade and himself apparently knew her, but she didn't know them. It had to be frustrating. She flipped to another page and found a photo of the sun setting over a field of fresh snow. Another one of his favourite pictures. She placed her hand over the picture as if trying to touch the snow. She closed the book and opened another. This one was of the land of lightning. She opened to a photo of a lightning storm taking place above the mountains.

Her finger traced the line of electric charge. She gasped. Kakashi walked over to her. "Are you ok?" She looked at him and back at the photo. She traced the lightning and grabbed his hand. She focused her eyes on his fingertips and his palm and then back to the lightning. She repeated the action a few times. After the second time, Kakashi realized that she was associating the lightning with him. Was she remembering his chidori technique? She then slumped back into the couch, letting go of his hand. "It's gone isn't it? The memory?" She nodded and looked as though she would cry.

He sat next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's ok. It will take time. Honestly I am surprised you are remembering anything this soon anyways. This is good though! If you just remembered something, that means if you work at it, you will start to remember more. You just have to try." She looked up at him and smiled. The book fell to the floor and she lunged from where she was sitting and threw her arms around him in a hug. Kakashi was a bit shocked, but wrapped his arms around her, returning it.

"You should get some sleep. You will have plenty of time to work on getting your memory back." She nodded and picked the book off the floor and placed it on top of the others on the coffee table. She followed him down the hall and tugged on his shirt as he headed past her door towards his own. He turned and she gave him a wide smile. He gave her his happy eye crease and she turned to enter her room. The next hour, Kakashi found sleep was not coming to him. He was excited that Sakura had experienced something. She really was in there and it wouldn't take too long for her to start remembering things. Finally his fatigue shut down his brain and his racing thoughts and he fell into a desperately needed sleep.


	4. Making Progress

Thanks to InoSakuShine for the review! I will try to keep Kakashi as in-character as I possibly can :)

CHAPTER 4  
>Making Progress<p>

The next morning, he dragged himself out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. The door was closed and light crept from the crack between the floor and the door. He listened closer and didn't hear any water running. "Are you ok Mio?" No response. "Uh, one knock on something for no, two for yes. Are you ok?" Still nothing. "Mio, I am coming in. I will try not to look." He cracked the door and kept his eyes on the floor. "Mio?" "Unnnn!" Her startled sound made him look up. She was sitting in the tub, bubbles above her chest and hugging her shoulders. "Oh, Kami, Im sorry Mio, I was just worried when you didn't reply. I'll leave." "Uunn!"

Kakashi was confused. Her expression seemed as though she were protesting him leaving. She looked down at the water and back up at him. "I'm, sorry I don't understand..." She seemed more frustrated. She leaned down and sniffed her skin and made a disgusted face, then looked at him hoping he understood. "You ... stink?" She nodded. "Isn't that why you are taking a bath?" She nodded then sighed and shook her head.

Kakashi was still confused. He tried to think for a minute on what she was trying to tell him. "Do you need help washing?" She nodded vigorously, relieved that he understood her. "Uh ... Mio, I don't know if I should. Wouldn't you rather have another woman help you?" She looked confused. It wasn't that Kakashi didn't want to help her, and didn't want to bathe her, but he couldn't do that to her in her current state. She probably didn't even realize the differences between males and females. She had the mind of a child to a point right now and had no idea just how wrong it would be for him to bathe her.

"Ok, get out of the tub and I'll call for some help." He turned around so she could get out unseen. Kakashi then did the seals and summoned Pakkun. "Yeah boss, whatcha need?" "Erm... I have a bit of a problem..." Pakkun leaned to the right a bit and looked past Kakashi into the bathroom at a beautiful brunette covered in a white fluffy towel. "Well, coming from your perspective, it doesn't look like much of a problem to me, but whatever you say." "I need you to go get Tsunade and tell her I need help. She will know what to do." Pakkun nodded he was about to disappear when he sniffed the air. "She smells familiar.. it's faint, but I know the scent." Then he was gone.

Within minutes Tsunade arrived, almost busting down Kakashi's door. "What happened?" She asked worriedly. "Well, she wanted to take a bath, but apparently she has forgotten how to bathe." Tsunade looked at Kakashi dumbfounded. "You seriously don't expect me to wash her do you?" Kakashi almost shrieked. "Kami, Kakashi! You aren't some blithering hormone imbalanced fourteen year old boy. You seriously can't give her a bath?" "Think about who I am! What is my reputation? Me giving her a bath? Really? I would rather have you come here and do it instead of me doing it and then you killing me in case you disapproved!"

Tsunade sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just have so much shit going on right now I can think straight." "I understand. Is there no one else who knows about the situation who can help so I wont have to call on you anytime something goes wrong?" She placed her hand on her head and closed her eyes."No, no one knows and it's too risky to bring anyone else in on this. Not until we know the threat on her life is eliminated." Kakashi nodded.

"I will show her how to bathe and hopefully she will be able to next time by herself. If she doesn't, Ill send someone over from the hospital and we will stick to the story that she is a relative of yours who is handicapped." Kakashi nodded again. "OH! I almost forgot! She seemed to have a breakthrough last night." Tsunade looked at him in surprise "Oh? What kind of breakthrough?" Kakashi grabbed the book from the land of lightning. He opened to the page Sakura had been looking at. "She saw this and grabbed my hand. She studied my fingers. I think she associated the lightning with me."

Tsunade seemed shocked. "Has she spoken at all?" "No, but she made noises this morning when she was asking for bathing help." "Did she remember anything else?" "No, it was gone as soon as it came." "Ok. Keep working with her. We may be able to bring her back after all." Tsunade escorted Sakura down the hall to the bathroom. About 30 minutes later a soaked Tsunade led Sakura to her bedroom to get dressed. Kakashi stifled a laugh as she walked towards him, dripping all over the floor. "She does NOT like getting her head wet apparently. I guess it makes sense since they were attacked in the land of water. Who knows what happened there? I'm wondering if maybe they tried to drown her." "She was stationed there with the other anbu?"

"Yes." "Well, I cant be sure, but I think she had another possible memory then. I dot think she remembers the attack, but maybe she remembers being stationed there. She seemed to like this book." He held out the land of water book. Tsunade flipped through the pages. "You may be right. Do you have more of these books?" "Yes I have one from every country and almost every village." "Good. Keep her reading. I think it may be a key element on bringing more memories back. I'm going to go get changed and get back to work. If you need me, send a clone. We stick with 'Mio' and I can send back instructions. I'll come if it is an emergency." "Ok."

The next few weeks were uneventful. Sakura made no signs of remembering anything. The books were nothing more than pretty pictures to her now. Kakashi was afraid she was regressing. He had spoken with Tsunade about it and she just told him it was going to take time and patience and he would just have to keep trying. He was heartbroken. He knew things wouldn't change overnight, but he still wished that he had some amazing power in him to make it go faster.

One morning, she walked over and sat on the couch and grabbed a book as usual. After breakfast, he asked her if she would like to go see some of the places in the Konoha book. She nodded with a smile. The first place he took her was to the riverside where they went on summer days after training. She looked around and walked up the the waters edge. Her hand sunk into the water and forcefully pushed, causing a small splash. "Id-dio-s."

Kakashi heard it, but wasn't sure if he believed it. She had spoken. "Idiots? Aha, you must be remembering Sasuke and Naruto." She looked out over the water. Whatever she had remembered was gone. Her face was blank again. "Come on. I have more to show you." He took her to the monument and they stood at the top, looking over the village. She didn't seem to be remembering anything but he could tell she was mesmerized by what she saw. "Beautiful, isn't it?" She nodded. "Want to see more?" He started to turn and she grabbed his hand. She fitted her fingers into his. "St-s-s..." She seemed angry with herself that she couldn't say what she wanted. "Stop?" She shook her head. "Stay?" She nodded and rested her head on his arm as she looked out over the village.

"M-m-m-m-mo...unnnn!" "You want to see more?" "Y-y-yeh-y-y-es. Yes!" She absolutely beamed with pride in herself that she had spoken a full word correctly. He gave her quite possibly one of the biggest smiles he had give anyone. "Ok, I have one more place I want to take you and then its home for lunch." She nodded. The last place he took her was to the training grounds. She didn't seem to remember anything here either. They spent a few minutes there and then headed home. After lunch, Kakashi decided to go to Sakura's place and see if he could find anything that would help in bringing her memory back. Old photo albums, objects, just random things. He couldn't take her though. There hadn't been any signs on the nin who wanted to kill her, but he wouldn't take a chance.

He walked up to her place. There were flowers everywhere, blown out candles, stuffed animals and cards from friends who still believed Sakura to be dead. He wished Sakura could see this so she would know how much she really was loved. He walked inside and as he shut the door, someone attacked him from behind.


	5. Through Sakura's Eyes

Thanks to EvilKyu Cassielf and Lil-BabYAnG3L for the reviews! I have the story completely written, but I'm trying to go through and fix as many errors as possible before I post them. I usually post a story full of errors then go back and re edit, but that is getting to be a pain and I know allot of people don't like stories with errors ;) Hopefully I will have the entire story published within the next 24-48 hours

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><p>Ok, I am going to be completely honest. I am horrible with fight scenes, but i felt that this story has to have one at some point. Please bear with me. I will give as much detail as I can, but I know most will think it is not enough. I would rather be vague on the details than write something that is poorly written.<p>

CHAPTER 5  
>Through Sakura's Eyes<p>

Kakashi had met his match. The man who attacked him was strong. Much stronger than most of the people he had fought against before. For a moment, Kakashi felt like he were battling against an Akatsuki member. The man ducked an attack from Kakashi and then he saw it. A curse mark. The exact same curse mark Sasuke was given. "Orochimaru." Kakashi breathed. The man stopped in his tracks and looked at Kakashi quizzically.

Kakashi took his chance and sent a non fatal chidori strike straight into the man's chest. He needed this man alive. He fell over and Kakashi grabbed him, hoisted him over his shoulder and teleported to the Hokage's office. Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. "Kakashi, have you ever heard of knocking?" she deadpanned. Kakashi dropped the unconscious man onto the floor with a loud thud. Tsunade leaned forward and peeked over her desk at the man on the floor, then up to Kakashi with an expression asking for explanation.

"He attacked me in Sakura's house. I went over there to check on the place since I knew they might come back to the village and as soon as I walked in, he hit me. I think hes one of the men involved in the murder of Sakura and her team." "Excellent. Shizune, go get Ibiki immediately. He has some work to do." Shizune left the room in a hurry. Tsunade shifted her eyes down to the man on the floor then back up at Kakashi. "How is Mio doing?" "Shes doing well. A little better every day. I was looking for some of the old family albums thinking it would be good for her to see them." "Well, you should get back to looking then. We will handle this."

Ibiki came into the office with Shizune following. He picked up the unconscious man and slung him over his shoulder. "I'll have your information to you in a few hours." Tsunade nodded. "Kakashi you are dismissed, go finish what you were doing." He nodded and left the room.

Once back at Sakura's apartment, he went in and began to look around. He found an old album, some of her stuffed animals probably from her childhood that meant too much to throw away. Once he had the items stuffed under his vest, he went back home. Sakura was looking through more books when he arrived. "I have some things for you." She looked up and smiled. He handed her the stuffed animals. She didn't seem to have any memory on the stuffed animals, but it didn't stop her from holding the teddy bear close.

He pulled out the album. He sat on the couch and opened it. The first page had a picture of Sakura as a baby. Kakashi marveled at how beautiful she was even as a baby. He never saw a photo of Sakura any younger than when he joined team 7. The next page had Sakura at her 1st birthday. Her mom was holding her in her lap while her dad helped her open a present. The next was of Sakura when she had lost her two front teeth. Kakashi chuckled. She had a huge smile and her tongue was poking out from where her two teeth once were.

The next one was a picture of her and Ino. They were probably about ten years old in the photo. Sakura pointed her finger at Ino. "Pig." she said with a loving smile. Kakashi smiled back at her. She remembered her pet name for Ino. "Fred." she pointed at herself in the photo. 'Close enough.' Kakashi thought. Forehead was a big word for her. She didn't stutter too much on simple small words anymore, but she still had trouble with big words. They flipped to the next page. It was their team photo. She looked at the photo again.

She pointed at Kakashi. "Book." She looked up at him and she had a puzzled look. "Book?" She asked and pointed to his vest pocket he usually kept it in and frowned. "I don't have that book anymore." She frowned again. "I seem to remember you hated me reading that book." "Book ... good." She said with a smile as she pointed to the photo album and the scenic books on the table. He chuckled. She obviously remembered that he read a book, but she didn't remember what the book was about.

She pointed at Naruto. "R-r-r ... Noo ... dulll." He smiled. "Yes, Naruto loves ramen noodle soup." She looked at Sasuke. She frowned. He wasn't sure if he was remembering the pain Sasuke had made her feel, or if she just couldn't remember him. Sasuke had never returned after he left so she didn't have as many memories of him as she did everyone else. She flipped to the next page. A picture of Naruto and Hinata's wedding. Sakura had been the maid of honor and Neji was the best man. Naruto and Hinata were center, Sakura stood beside Hinata and Neji next to Naruto.

She flipped to the next page, apparently not remembering the previous picture. The next picture was taken after she and Naruto had joined anbu. Yamato and Kakashi had dressed up in their anbu uniforms and stood next to Sakura and Naruto in their anbu uniforms. Sakura smiled deviously. "Hot." He wasn't sure who she was referring to but he wouldn't push to find out. She studied the picture a little closer. She looked at herself in her anbu uniform. She shrieked and threw the photo album across the room.

Kakashi looked at her in shock. She started to cry. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. "She .. died." she sobbed. Kakashi wasn't sure what to say. Tsunade had instructed him to not tell Sakura about herself. She had to think she was Mio. If she knew her name was Sakura, she could accidentally tell the wrong person and her cover would be blown. Right now, his job was to try and make her remember everyone else and hopefully her memory would come back completely. Then she would remember herself. They could tell her what had happened and the secret would be safe. But 'Mio' could not know her life was in danger. Mio was not safe with that information, only Sakura was and until she remembered that she was Sakura, he had to keep quiet.

He just held her close and let her cry. He silently hated Tsunade right now, but he knew it wasnt really her fault. She was only trying to protect Sakura and sometimes shinobi had to do the hardest and most emotionally taxing missions just to protect someone. It was the life of a shinobi. Not all missions were like that, but every shinobi would experience that kind of mission more than once in their life time. This was on the top five list of the hardest things he had to experience.

After she stopped crying she looked up at him. "I ... was th-there. I saw w-what h-h-h-ha-h." "You saw what happened?" "Yes" she sniffled. "They p-p-put her h..." she pointed to her head "In wat-water. Th-then they.." she pounded her fist on the coffee table a few times, then pointed at her head. So now he knew some of what happened. They tried to drown her, confirming Tsunade's suspicion on why Sakura was terrified to get her head wet. Then they punched her in the head multiple times, attempting to kill her, but giving her severe head trauma instead. She had to be tough to take punches from guys that strong and still survive.

"I want fl- go see flow..." She huffed. "You want to go see the flowers again?" She nodded and smiled. "Ok, lets go." When they arrived at the hospital's courtyard, she smiled and began to walk through, smelling the flowers as she went. Kakashi smiled as he watched her. She seemed at peace here and it made perfect sense for her to want to be here after having a traumatic memory like that. He looked down to his left and saw a flower bush. He picked one little five petal blue flower. He walked over to where she stood looking up at the cherry blossom tree. He handed the flower to her.

She took it in her hand and smiled up a him. "What this?" "Forget me not." Her expression seemed far away, like she was remembering something again.

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><p>Getting late, but I will post another chapter tomorrow. Promise :)<p> 


	6. Death of a Threat

CHAPTER 6  
>Death of a Threat<p>

She stood at the gate, about to go on her first mission as an anbu. She and Naruto were heading out for a simple low class mission. Naruto was busy doing something in the background. Kakashi stood in front of her. He stared into her eyes. "I came to see you off. Don't forget me now that you are anbu." He smiled playfully and placed a blue five petal flower in her hair. He looked as though he wanted to do something more, embrace her, possibly ... kiss her. Instead he turned and walked away, pulling out his book as he went.

She seemed to come back from the far away place she had just been. She looked at him. "You ... loved her. Did you?" Kakashi wasn't sure what she remembered, but he was going to tell the truth. "Yes, I still love her. I dont think she loved me back though." "She sh-should have. Not smart if not love you." Kakashi smiled at her. "Thank you, Mio. That makes me happy." He said with a genuine smile. "Why you wear mask?" She asked. "It's a long story, Mio." She nodded in understanding. "I feel I 'sposed play game get mask." He laughed. She looked so cute with her sly smile and her child-like way of talking. She had partially remembered the game she and her team played when they were young, trying to remove their sensei's mask. Sakura made a grab for it, but Kakashi dodged her. They both started laughing as she started to chase him.

Tsunade cleared her throat. Kakashi stopped in mid stride and looked at the smiling Tsunade. Sakura slammed right into Kakashi's back. "HEY! Why you stop?" She whacked his arm. Kakashi flinched a little in pain. She may not remember how to produce a jutsu, but she still had her strength. Tsunade was shocked to hear Sakura saying a full sentence. "Mio! You are talking now!" "I trying get mask!" Sakura boasted as she made another unsuccessful attempt at grabbing it. "You too fast." Sakura pouted. Kakashi and Tsunade laughed. "I go to tree now." She said as she walked over towards the cherry blossom tree.

Tsunade couldn't stop smiling. "She's doing so well! When did this breakthrough happen?" "Actually, shes been saying words here and there, but she just started putting sentences together today." "This is wonderful! She's recovering allot faster than I expected. How much has she remembered?" "Little bits here and there. She remembers quite a few people. Not much about them, but she remembers my book. That Naruto likes ramen. She called Ino's picture 'pig'. She pointed at herself and said 'fred' forehead, you know." "Does she remember herself?" "She thinks Sakura is dead. She says she was there when it happened. They tried to drown Sakura and repeatedly punched her in the head." "That would explain allot. But she doesn't connect herself as being Sakura?" "No, not yet."

"Well, Ibiki finished with the interrogation quicker than I expected. There's two other men. They are all subjects that Orochimaru created, but they escaped. They are fast and strong. Orochimaru gave them all multiple jutsu styles. They can create earth style, water style, wind style ... basically they are just about unstoppable. The only reason they didn't finish off Sakura and the other anbu is because they both played dead. Only when they returned to the scene and found two were missing, did they know they were still alive."

Kakashi had figured they had something to do with Orochimaru. Tsunade continued on. "They came in and killed the other anbu and they figured Sakura's funeral was a fake, so they have been waiting for her to return. We got the location of the other men and we are dispatching teams now. I know you would want to be in on the action, but you have to stay here with her. You understand, right?" "Yes." "Hey, where is your book?" "I put it in her coffin." Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Figured it was you." She pulled an orange book out of her pocket and tossed it at him.

"You were willing to give it up when you thought she was dead?" He nodded, looking down at the orange cover. "Did you ever tell her how you felt about her?" He looked up in shock. "No, I hinted but she blew it off. Besides, I'm an old man going after a young woman." "Pshh. Your both adults capable of your own decisions. Screw anyone who cant accept love, whatever form it's in. If she does happen to feel the same, you have my blessing." Kakashi couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was terrified of what Tsunade would do to him if she ever found out his secret. "Thank you." He smiled.

"Ok, well I have some work to do. Keep working with her. It wont be long now." He turned to look at Sakura who was now laying on the patch of grass under the tree. He walked over and sat down on the grass next to her. She looked up at him. "What you thinking?" "About how much I really love Sakura and I want her back." She sat up. "I sorry." "It's ok. I just wish I knew if she felt the same." "Somebody stupid not love you. You nice. Sweet. Make happy. Make ... me ... happy." He looked at her and smiled. Mio cared for him. But did Sakura?

If Tsunade was right, Sakura would not be Mio much longer and as much as he wanted to lean in and kiss her right now. He knew he shouldn't. Instead, he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Thank You, Mio." Sakura snuggled into him. The sun was beginning to set and her stomach started growling. "Would you prefer to eat at home tonight, or would you like to go eat at a restaurant? "You can eat outside home?" She asked astonished. He chuckled and nodded "I take that as a yes on going out then?" She nodded and smiled happily.

They headed straight over to the restaurant. They walked in and were seated right away. Sakura looked over the menu. "Do they have ... um ... that night, soup and ... uh ...?" "Dumplings? Yes, it's right here." He pointed it out on the menu for her. When the waitress came and took their order, Sakura simply pointed at what she wanted. Kakashi decided to order the same. Naruto walked into the restaurant with Hinata and their son and daughter. Naruto noticed Kakashi and signaled him to come over. "Be right back." He told Sakura.

"We got 'em. The other two are dead. Sakura has been avenged." Kakashi looked at Naruto. He had visible scrapes and bruises. He knew there was a big fight and it wasn't easy. Naruto rarely ever get hurt in battle anymore. He had gained so much strength and had trained with the nine tails power now that he had control over it. Naruto's eyes held a bitter sweetness to them. He had avenged Sakura, but it still wouldn't bring her back as far as he knew. Kakashi wished so badly that he could tell Naruto the truth. The threat was now gone, so it seemed pointless to keep up the charade, but he wouldn't breathe a word until Tsunade gave permission. He valued his life. He had been pushing his limits with her more than he usually did. She was starting to see that when it came to matters of Sakura, he didn't really just smile and nod anymore.

He went back to his table. The food had arrived and Sakura was waiting patiently for him to come back. They ate their dinner and made small talk that Sakura could keep up with. She mentioned that she had been to the waterfall in the book. If she could ever remember it's location, she would take him. He smiled. He had wanted to find that waterfall so many times. After dinner, they walked home and she took a shower and went to bed. He decided to read a small chapter of his book, now that he had it back. He didn't get very far before the book rested on his chest and his eyes closed and he fell asleep.


	7. Shadow Clones

Thanks to ilygodot for all the awesome reviews and I appreciate the constructive criticism! I thought I fixed everything, but I missed one chapter. :) I will certainly go back and correct them as soon as I finish the story up. I really honestly do appreciate you pointing it out for me. Hope you all enjoy.

CHAPTER 7  
>Shadow Clones<p>

The next day, Kakashi and Sakura sat down, eating breakfast. "I am going to teach you how to make a clone today." She perked up and listened. "When you create a clone, half of your chakra will go to your other clone. If you and your clone disperse too much chakra energy, you will tire out quickly and your chakra will deplete, so you need to use your clone sparingly and never make one if your chakra is low because it can kill you if you aren't careful." He spent some time teaching her how to gather and control chakra. Once he felt she was ready, they began the clone training.

He showed her the hand seals in slow motion. She copied the movements. She missed a seal. "Like this." Kakashi showed her again with his hands. She missed a different seal. Kakashi took both of her hands into his. He slowly made the seals with her hands so she could see what was happening. After the last hand seal, he didn't let go of her hands. She looked up at him and he looked down on her. They stood there for a moment, looking into each other's eyes.

Kakashi shook himself from it and let go of her hands. "Ok I will do it quickly and make my clone appear. He made the seals and said the words "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Another Kakashi appeared next to him. Sakura knew what they were doing and had seen him do it before, but she was still shocked to see it actually happen. She mimicked the signs and said the words, but nothing happened. "Try it again. I think you missed a seal." She tried again and this time it worked. Next to her stood another dark haired Sakura. She squealed in delight. Her concentration faltered and the clone disappeared. She frowned. "Heh, forgot to mention that you need to hold your concentration steady when you make a clone."

All afternoon, she continued to make clones until Kakashi told her it was time to stop. He didn't want her chakra to deplete. She started to get a little tired from all the chakra use and laid down to take a nap. Kakashi left her a note and went to see Tsunade.

"Can we drop the whole 'Mio' thing since the threat is gone?" "I don't think it is a good idea right now. We dont want to confuse her anymore than she already is." "But I think it would be good for her friends to know that she isn't really dead." "Kakashi, I know she has made some amazing progress, but there is always a chance that she may never fully regain her memories. She knows herself as Mio right now. Telling her that she is Sakura could possibly do more damage to her. She has to find herself. You help her remember everyone and everything, but she has to remember herself on her own."

Sakura dreamed that she was standing on a rooftop. The hospital rooftop. The black haired boy and blonde haired boy seemed upset with each other and they were heading straight for each other about to attack with jutsu flaring from their hands. She ran towards them, begging them to stop. She was heading right into the crossfire. Suddenly, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and grabbed both boys by their wrists and threw them each into water tanks. She stopped in front of Kakashi. She looked at him. He looked down at her for a split second with worry and relief both apparent in his eye.

She woke up when she heard the front door close. Her hand moved of it's own accord, reaching under her pillow. What was she reaching for? Why did fear seem to swell in the pit of her stomach? Then it hit her. She used to keep a weapon under her pillow. But Why? What kind of life did she live before that she had to keep a weapon under her pillow and fear struck her when someone was at the door? She suddenly realized that maybe she didn't want to remember who she was.

As she was being swallowed whole by her thoughts, Kakashi leaned past the door frame. "Hungry?" She didnt seem to acknowledge his presence. The look on her face told him she seemed to be having an inner battle. He walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. "Sakura?" She snapped out of it and looked at him. "What you call me?" "Uh, Mio." He almost screwed up. "Did you love her when blonde and black ... on roof?" "..." Kakashi looked puzzled. "You saved her. Then looked scared and not scared." Kakashi then realized the moment she was talking about.

"Ah, yes, well ... I cant say I loved her then, the way I do now. I cared for her deeply as one of my students then. Only in the past few years have I fallen in love with her the way I am now." Sakura nodded. "Kakashi?" "Hmm?" "Why when I dream of her, I am her?" Kakashi couldn't think of anything to say. "I'm not sure Mio. Come on, lets eat. I picked up lunch."

The next week went by. Sakura was beginning to remember more and more. She continued to dream about Sakura's past experiences. Her speech was improving greatly. She was able to find words she searched for. Her sentences started to make more sense. Tsunade had started sessions with Sakura that she felt might help aide her in recovering her memories. Sakura came back from one of her sessions. She walked into the house and announced she was home, but she heard nothing. She looked for a note but there was none. It was odd for Kakashi to leave without leaving a note. Perhaps he was taking a nap.


	8. Revelation

Thanks to Lil-BabYAnG3L for the review! :) You have been one of my great followers!

CHAPTER 8

Revelation

She walked down to his bedroom and saw him slumped over on the bed in obvious pain. "Kakashi! What's wrong?" He didn't reply. Sakura stood there, not knowing what to do. Suddenly something within her kicked into high gear. She rushed over to him and placed her hands above him. She watched as a green aura appeared from her hands. She had no clue what was happening, but as her hands moved on her own, she realized something was off in his system.

She summoned a clone and sent it to Tsunade. She was trying hard to focus, but it was tough. She was afraid the slightest distraction would cause her clone to disappear, but her clone made it. She managed to tell Tsunade something was wrong before Kakashi screamed out in pain, making her concentration break and the clone disappear. Tsunade rushed over and raced into the apartment. She saw Sakura standing at the bedroom door, crying. "Something's wrong! My hands did something and I saw inside him. I don't know what it is, but I know it's not right!" Tsunade was surprised Sakura had tapped into her medical jutsu without even knowing she had it, or what it was.

Sakura sat on a bench outside of the operating room for a few hours. People had started to show up once they heard the news. Naruto and Hinata sat beside Sakura. Sai, Yamato, Genma, Gai and quite a few others had shown up as well. "I wish Sakura were here. I know granny Tsunade is capable of saving him, but ..." He trailed off. Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She walked down to the courtyard. She started to mindlessly pace back and forth. Suddenly she began to have memories flashing in her head at breakneck speeds of Sakura healing multiple people. Her head began to throb. A persistent migraine began to sweep over her. She fell to the ground. Then everything went white.

In her thoughts, Tsunade and Kakashi stood there before her. Tsunade began to speak. "Mio, I don't know if you will ever unlock this, but if you are seeing it now, your mind knows it is time for you to know the truth. You are not Mio as we have led you on to believe. By this time, you have probably had multiple memories in which you see everything from Sakura's point of view and you don't understand why. Someone tried to kill Sakura. For her safety, we had to fake her death. You see, she is still alive. Mio ... you are Sakura."

Tsunade explained everything in detail of the attack, her faked death and Kakashi taking her in. After the vision was gone, Sakura opened her eyes. She was face to face with a flower bush. Five petals. Blue. Kakashi appeared in the back of her mind as he handed her one of the small flowers. "Forget me not." He said. A tsunami of memories crashed into her. The floodgates had opened. She remembered everything. Everything about her old life and her new one as Mio. She was overwhelmed. After collecting herself, she stood up.

Upstairs, Sakura watched as Tsunade stood outside the operating room. She had apparently spoken to everyone about the situation. From the looks on faces and the tears from some, she knew it wasn't good. She watched as tears streamed down Naruto's face. "I've lost Sakura. I cant lose him too!" Hinata tried her best to comfort him. "Lady Tsunade, can I speak with you?" Sakura asked. Tsunade walked around the corner and joined Sakura in an area out of earshot from everyone. "What is going on?" "Kakashi has a poison in his system. Apparently the man who attacked him at Sakura's house administered it. It slowly deteriorates the body and the person has no idea until all the vital organs have been infected. Then there is a small window in which to save him. We have used up all of our chakra and it wont replenish in the window we have. He's not going to make it."

Fear was evident in Tsunade's eyes."Let me help." She said. Tsunade looked at her questioningly. "I want to at least try to save my old sensei." Tsunade's face reflected shock. "You ... remember?" "Everything." Sakura said. "Ok, lets get you prepped. You are his last hope."

Over the next 6 hours, Sakura worked non stop removing poison from his organs. By the time her chakra had gotten dangerously low, the other medics had been given some time for their chakra to replenish and they took over. Another two hours in, Tsunade announced the procedure a success. The poison was gone from his system. Now began the task of healing the damage done to his organs by the poison. Kakashi still had a chance of surviving.

Sakura spent the next three days at his bedside. Never leaving the room. She kept a continuous check on the status of his recovery, and spent hours out of the day healing anything that she could. Tsunade pulled her out of the room and there before her, stood all her friends. Naruto ran up and held her close. Tears fell from his eyes. "Tsunade explained everything to us. I have my Sakura chan back and my Kaka-Sensei! Your not allowed back into anbu ever again! Both of you are retiring!" She laughed as she returned his hug. Her friends wanted to take her out to celebrate, but she refused to leave Kakashi's side. Another fours days in Sakura left the hospital's walls for the first time in a week. She walked down to the garden courtyard.

Kakashi started to move a little. His eyes slowly opened. He stared at the white ceiling. He knew where he was. He hated being here. Why was he here? He looked down at his chest. A single blue five petaled flower lay there. "Sakura." He breathed. He looked around the room, but no one was there. Tsunade opened the door. "You're awake!" He groaned in response. "How long have I been out and why have I been out?" Naruto entered the room. "Kaka-Sensei!" "Yo, Naruto." He said with a smile.

"Well, the guy who attacked you at Sakura's injected you with a serious poison. We almost lost you. You have been out for a week." "Oh Kami, I haven't been there for her. Where is she? Is Sakura ok? I mean Mio." "You can drop the Mio." Tsunade said with a big smile. He looked at her and then to Naruto. Naruto was beaming. "She remembers everything." Kakashi's eye went wide. "She remembers? When did it happen?" "Well, it happened the day you were put in here. She realized something was wrong with you and sent a clone to come get me. We got you back here. We started the procedure to remove the poison, but our chakra was depleting quicker than the we were getting the poison out."

Tsunade continued on "She said she walked down to the garden and memories started hitting her. She unlocked my message and she said looking at a forget me not bush is what did it. Ironic, huh? Well she came back upstairs and I had announced the procedure a failure. She came in and worked on you and because of her, we got enough time to replenish our chakra and finish the procedure. She saved your life Kakashi."

He sat there in disbelief. "Where has she been staying?" "She hasn't left this room except once, she went to the garden and right now shes down there." "Can you help me down there?" He asked hopefully. "Sure. Let me go get you a wheelchair." "No. You know me better than that." She laughed. "Figures. Alright, come on." She helped him out of bed and draped his arm around her shoulder. Naruto took the other arm. Sakura laid on the grass under the cherry blossom tree. She had forget me nots scattered around her. She was sleeping. There was a book open on her chest. Kakashi squinted as he tried to focus in the intense sunlight.

He almost fell backwards. She was reading his book! The orange covered romance novel she hated so much before. "I've got it from here." He whispered. Tsunade took the polite 'You can leave now' statement and headed back into the hospital. Naruto didn't seem to catch on though as he stood there. Kakashi was about to spell it out for him when Naruto's face softened and he opened his mouth to speak. "Kakashi. How do you feel about Sakura chan?" "What do you mean?" "Do you love her?" Kakashi didn't know where this was coming from. "I'm not going to lie. I love her with every ounce of my being." "You love her more than a friend?" "Yes." "Good." Kakashi looked at Naruto, confused. "Ok, when you get released and you are feeling up to it, I expect you and Sakura to join us all of a celebration dinner. She refused to go until you were awake."

Kakashi nodded as Naruto began to turn away to walk off. "Oh, and I expect good news to be announced at the dinner. Be honest with her Kakashi. She was honest with all of us the other day." More confused than ever, he carefully made his way over and sat down in the grass. He laid down beside her. He brushed a strand of stray hair out of her face. It was still dark, but her pink roots were coming in. "Sakura." He whispered faintly above the sound of the breeze that had picked up. Cherry blossoms began to fall from the tree and float around them on their slow descent to the grass below. Her eyes began to move and flutter open. She looked straight at him. Her eyes widened. She placed her hand on his cheek. His hand reached up and hooked under his mask.

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><p>(Sigh) Only one more chapter to go. All good things have to come to an end, but if I make it any longer, I risk not updating again until the beginning of next year with all the holiday stuff I am fixing to be wrapped up in.<p> 


	9. Confession

Thank You to my faithful reviewers; Lil-BabYAnG3L and ilygodot! :)

This last chapter is for both of you xoxo

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><p>CHAPTER 9<p>

Confession

Sakura's breathing stopped. He pulled the mask down slowly. Barely giving her a second to see what she had put so much effort into almost half her life, he leaned forward and captured her lips in his. He pulled away and looked at her. "I love you Sakura." "I know." She smiled. "I know you tried to tell me before all of this happened. I may have my memory back, but I don't remember why I wouldn't let myself believe what you were trying to say. Maybe I felt something and was scared to believe my feelings. All I know is Mio fell in love with you." "Just Mio?" "Silly. Mio is just what you called me. I am Mio. Mio is Sakura. And I, Sakura Haruno, love you Kakashi. When I was so confused and couldn't remember who I was, You were there. You have always been there."

He smiled at her words. "I love you Sakura. I don't want to live without you. When I thought you were dead ..." She cut him off with a kiss. When she pulled away she spoke "I don't want to live without you either. I probably felt the same as you did when Tsunade told me you weren't going to pull through, but we are both alive, have faced death and stuck by each other through it all and I want to stick by your side until the end." A tear slipped from Kakashi's eye. "Marry me." he said. Sakura couldn't believe her ears. "You don't have to respond right now. It doesn't have to _be_ right now. You don't have to consider this official. I will propose again with a ring later, I just want you to know, I want you to marry me someday."

She smiled. "I think that sounds fair. And yes, I want an official ring proposal." He took her into his arms. They laid on the grass holding each other until Tsunade came out and said he needed to return to his room so she could check if he was ready for release. They helped him up to his room and after Tsunade finished with the exam she looked at them both. "You can go home tonight, _but_, you cannot be left alone. We will need someone to be with you since you will be weak for the next week or so. I can have a live in nurse come or ..." "I'll do it." Sakura cut her off.

"Ah, I thought so." Tsunade replied. "Well then, I dont have to explain his in home care since you already know what to do Sakura." "Um, Shishou?" Sakura asked nervously. "Yes?" Tsunade asked as if she knew what was coming. "I .. um, well, you see, Kakashi and I, we..." "I already told Kakashi over a month ago that you both have my blessing as long as you felt the same as he does." Sakura stood stunned. "Really?" Sakura shrieked in excitement. "Yes. Now get out of here before Kakashi decides to make another one of his daring escapes and winds up getting put back in here." They both smiled at Tsunade as they got up to walk out. Tsunade watched them leave with a huge grin on her face. She had watched them in the garden earlier. "About time." She muttered.

The next week flew by and they had arranged to meet with their friends that night for the celebration dinner. Just about everyone of their friends had shown up. The whole restaurant was full. Halfway through the meal Naruto stood up. "After what Sakura told most of us all in the hospital, I told Kakashi, once he was awake and came to this meal, he better have some good news. I know he feels the same as she told us how she felt. If he doesn't give us some good news, I will spill the beans myself." Kakashi shook his head and chuckled as Sakura laughed. "I do as a matter of fact. Better news than you were expecting, Naruto." Kakashi slid out of his chair onto one knee and pulled out a small black velvet box and opened it.

"Marry me, Sakura. I cant think of a better time to ask. Everything we have been through the past month and realizing that we can't and don't want to live without each other, it only makes sense to make it official right now. I know I will never meet anyone like you that I will care enough to try something this big with. I'm not as old as people say, but I am not as young as I pretend to be. I am old enough to know what I want and you are wise enough to know what you want."

Sakura smiled. He was right. They were just putting off the inevitable. They didn't have to get married right away. Ino and Sai had been engaged for two years and still, a date had not been set. Which was odd, considering who Ino was, but that was besides the point. "I will." She said with a smile. Kakashi slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her as everyone cheered and exclaimed their happiness for the couple. Sakura took the black box the ring had been in and took out the five petaled blue flower that Kakashi had given her in the garden and placed it inside the box. "Forget me not, and I never will."

END

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><p>I hope you all enjoyed the story! I enjoyed writing it! This will unfortunately be the last story for the rest of the year, unless I get some spare time, but I doubt I will. The good thing is, December isn't far from being over and I will be back in January. Ilygodot will be helping me with my punctuation editing. I am so thankful to her for doing this for me! Thank you all so much for the awesome reviews! It is because of you that I keep on writing. I know my style isn't for everyone, but I am so thankful for the ones who do enjoy my work! You are all so amazing, and may all of you who are celebrating any holiday tradition this month, have a wonderful one! :)<p> 


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